A difficult one but just to go over well trodden ground. Those original screen shots look very pretty but even if the reflections are closer to 'real' they certainly make the guages much more difficult to read. The cockpits we have now are still excellent and I personally don't think they are too arcadie. In some ways the original shots would suggest the super reflections might be a bit distracting giving the impression you are flying an immaculately restored concours plane rather than a fighter in active service. Just my thought.
Among the original screen shots Oleg put out was one with superbly realistic breakers crashing onto a beach. It seems likely there was a lot of hoped for stuff that the developers found just couldn't be incorporated in the end. Oleg also stated that things were planned that even a high end system today couldn't run well.
I would agree with those that say such effects would be great but there are more pressing performance and other issues to sort out and cutting back a bit on the candy is clearing the decks a little. If you want all the core issues such as fps with stability properly sorted then maybe the bells and whistles have to be put on hold. Such things can always be put back by the developers at a later date or even via mods. I have the original disc but the sim has progressed way beyond that without any additional cost to me which is the one good thing about Steam.
I also believe Luthier when he said that he and his team are dedicated enthusiasts determined to make the best WW11 combat flight sim ever with full backing from the company.
A couple of screen shots from the latest beta and mini patch to show the reflections are still there depending on the light. I just happened to catch a bit of TV this morning where someone was flying a microlight. The instruments were pretty much the same as any aircraft since the 30s and to be honest I thought the reflections were nearer to what we have now than those super sparkly screenshots.
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